What if countries had to compete for citizens?

magine we open the borders and you, as a citizen, can live anywhere in the world. Where would you move?

Maybe you’d pick someplace safe or affordable. Perhaps you’d move somewhere with good jobs, access to the outdoors, maybe with a vibrant culture. If you want a good education you might pick a country where that is affordable. If you have children, you might move where you can get subsidized childcare. If you’re an entrepreneur or about to retire, you might want access to a good economy or free healthcare. 

Personally, I think the best working model we have for government comes from the Nordic countries, as outlined in the book The Nordic Theory of Everything. The Nordic countries subsidize childcare, education, and healthcare so that every individual has the opportunity to thrive, and I’d love to move to a country that invests in its people the way they do. It’s no wonder the Nordic countries are often called the happiest places to live!

Well, wherever you live, that country gets your tax dollars. Now it’s in their best interest to make life in that country good, because you could just as easily pick up and move somewhere better, and then that country will get all your money, making it even better. Countries could even go bankrupt if they don’t treat citizens well and a mass exodus occurs. Suddenly, countries are competing with one another for residents. And what might countries do if they are competing to become the best place to live? 

Might they get rid of crime, find solutions for homelessness and drug abuse, make housing affordable, invest in more green space? Might they even give up prejudice? After all, Neom seems like it would be a great place to live—and the new city hopes to entice 9 million people to live there—but as a woman, would I really move to Saudi Arabia? Probably not. Suddenly, it becomes in Saudi Arabia’s best interest to treat women really well, otherwise they’ll have a city full of men! (And those men will probably move elsewhere….)